End of Granite Falls flood mitigation within reach

With news that the Minnesota DNR has committed an additional $500,000, the city of Granite Falls is expected to have received the entirety of the funds it will need to complete its decade long, roughly $22 million flood mitigation project.

With news that the Minnesota DNR has committed an additional $500,000, the city of Granite Falls is expected to have received the entirety of the funds it will need to complete its decade long, roughly $22 million flood mitigation project.

“We are delighted to obtain access to a portion of the DNR’s latest round of Flood Damage Reduction Program funding“, said Granite Falls Mayor Dave Smiglewski.

The city was informed of the news by Minnesota DNR Flood Damage Reduction Program Manager Pat Lynch last Thursday. Lynch was out of the office and unavailable this past week but told city officials via email that the DNR was eager as the city to complete the work, and further to have representatives attest to the local success story.

“This may, depending on the competitive bidding climate, be enough funding for the city to complete our long-term flood mitigation plan. We didn’t fit any previous template for flood mitigation so we had to carve out our own plan. We have stayed on-task over these many years and have used the state’s money well,” said Smiglewski.

Still to be completed is the Seventh Street pumping station, the Minnesota Avenue Lift Station and buyout and removal of the Granite Green House. In March, the city received a federal EDA grant for $1.512 million that will pay for 80 percent of the cost of the Minnesota Avenue lift station, helping to move forward with one of the largest remaining projects. The Minnesota DNR funding will cover the remaining 20 percent of the project.

Of the approximately $22 million that has been appropriated for flood mitigation projects in Granite Falls, less than $600,000, or just under three percent, of the total project cost will involve funding from the city and many of them were in-kind contributions of labor and/or material.